Category Archives: Commonality

Do the Plaintiffs Lack Standing or Are Their Claims Simply Meritless—or Both?

By Kevin Ranlett on April 1, 2013 Posted in Adequacy, Class Action Trends, Class Certification, Commonality, Predominance, Typicality

Here’s the situation: You’re facing a class action in federal court in which the plaintiffs define the putative class so broadly as to encompass many people who weren’t injured by the alleged wrongdoing. For example, consider a false-advertising class action on behalf of “all purchasers” of a product that the vast majority of purchasers would… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Denies Review In NECA-IBEW Case

By Kevin Ranlett on March 20, 2013 Posted in Adequacy, Class Certification, Commonality, Predominance, Securities, Typicality

We’ve been blogging about the Second Circuit’s decision in NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund v. Goldman Sachs (pdf), which held that a named plaintiff in a securities fraud suit might have standing in some situations to assert class action claims regarding securities that he or she never purchased. Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied (pdf) Goldman’s petition… Continue Reading

Wall Street Journal Editorial Calls for Supreme Court Review in Whirlpool Corp. v. Glazer

By Kevin Ranlett on October 10, 2012 Posted in Appeals, Class Certification, Commonality, Predominance, U.S. Supreme Court

The Wall Street Journal recently published an editorial urging the Supreme Court to grant the petition for certiorari (pdf) in Whirlpool Corp. v. Glazer—a petition filed by my colleagues Stephen Shapiro, Jeffrey Sarles, and Tim Bishop. The petition seeks review of a decision by the Sixth Circuit (pdf), which affirmed the certification of a class of Ohio… Continue Reading